Nightfall
by TheMosh4321
Summary: On their way to borrow the Junker, Baird and Dom spot someone. A girl, one whom they had never even seen before. She knows how to fight and take care of herself, but hates to be around strangers. She has practically nothing left. When Baird manages to make her follow Delta Squad, what will she do? (OC settings and characters. Sorry if I get anything wrong!)
1. 1- Get killed, it's on your hands

**Damon Baird's POV**

* * *

"Baird, you and Dom need to keep your asses back here for a minute." Fenix said.

I rolled my eyes. Why I didn't just shoot him right then and there was beyond me. "Yeah yeah yeah, whatever," I muttered and leaned against the wall of the abandoned building to keep watch with Dom. Cole and Fenix were already up by the Troika, shooting it down pretty fast.

I'm not saying I enjoyed the war, but it was a bit more exciting than my past daily life. I had nothing then. I joined the military a few years before the start of the war, so they just drafted me then.

Dom nudged me a bit and pointed off into the distance, past a crushed car. I saw the swish of blonde hair and the glint of a Lancer as four or five shots went off. It was a girl.

She flipped backwards over the car and landed on her feet, blindly shooting over it with one hand as her other hand clutched her opposite shoulder. Blood flowed over her fingertips. She had been hit.

Dom started to walk towards her but I grabbed his elbow and yanked him back. "I've got this," I grunted, walking ahead of him.

"You're just doing it 'cause she's a girl."

"Shuddup, I'm completely against love-slash-like-slash-all that shit."

The girl spotted me and the hand that had been clutching her shoulder was fast to grab a rifle and point it at me as I crouched behind a different car. "Put it down, I ain't gonna hurt you."

She narrowed her eyes at me, but turned her attention back to the Locust as its last shot barely missed her head. She shot back at it and it fell to the ground. When everything was deemed safe she stood up and looked at me. "Name," she said, putting her Lancer over her shoulder once again.

"Damon Baird. You?" I asked as I stood up.

"Ryot Naime."

"Oh, fancy huh?"

"I will not hesitate to shoot you right here, right now." Ryot said, although there was a small smirk on her face. I smirked in return, but then turned my attention to her bleeding arm. "Shot?"

"Just grazed. I'll be a'ight." She shrugged before turning back the way I had assumed she had come from.

"Wait, where're you going?"

"Places," she called over her shoulder, amusement in her voice.

"Uh, there are places over here. Come on."

"What?" She asked. "Wait, are there others?"

"Yeah," I laughed, "plenty. We're actually headed into another neighborhood of them. Come on, I'm sure they'd help you with your arm. I don't think you were just grazed." Her hand was over the bleeding would once again and I raised an eyebrow.

Ryot sighed, then nodded. "Alright.. I'll come. On one condition."

"And it is?"

"I'm not part of your little group. By the way, they're waiting for you over there." She said. She then pointed at Dom, Fenix, and Cole, who were all standing with their arms crossed over their chests. I followed her motion and winced a bit as Fenix narrowed his eyes at me.

"Well shit, he's gonna be pissed."

"No shit Sherlock," he called over. "I can hear you ya idiot, now you and whoever the hell that is need to get over here. The gatekeeper is just around the building and there's a swarm of Locusts coming this way."

Ryot sighed and jogged over to them, me following just behind her.

Cole slugged me hard in the shoulder out of annoyance, then moved to greet Ryot. Everyone else introduced themselves as we walked through the building. After a few minutes of walking with the others, she slacked behind and walked beside me. COG tags rattled on their chain around her neck as she walked up the steep stairs and I couldn't help but ask, "Where'd you get those?"

Ryot looked down at her tags before her hand came up to clutch them. "They were my brother's. So was the Lancer."

"Where is he?" I asked, then immediately regretted it.

"Dead. Three days."

"Sorry."

"Yeah."

* * *

Some of the weaponless, homeless old men called out to us, one particularly towards Ryot. She looked at me, slightly nervous and I realized that even though she could shoot down nine Locusts, she wasn't used to places like this.

"Hey," I said, my voice actually soft for once. I was surprising myself. "It's alright."

I rested my hand on her good shoulder and she relaxed a bit, turning her look back ahead of us. Cole glanced back at me and raised an eyebrow. "She alright?" He asked.

"She's fine," I answered, looking at her. Her hand was at her waistband, clutching her rifle.

"No need to be so calm in such a dangerous situation," I said sarcastically. She jabbed her elbow into my side, although I could barely feel it due to my armor. I looked at her, taking note that she herself had nothing on but a tank top, baggy army jeans, and boots that I could tell were once her brothers; no armor. "Can't be too safe walking around without armor," I said.

"Eh." Ryot shrugged. "Don't have any."

"Well we need to find you some then, don't we?"

"I don't want any."

"Course you do."

"But I don't."

"And why not?" I was growing annoyed, quick.

"Because I don't want yours or any of your little groups help, okay?" She snapped, sensing my annoyance.

"Whatever. You get killed, it's on your own hands."

"Good."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Great."

"Damon, shut up."

"Naime, you shut up."

"Will you both be quiet?" Fenix hissed to them as Dom began talking to Franklin, the guy they were to be borrowing the Junker from.

I rolled my eyes, not paying attention to anything until I heard Franklin say, "And I want these two here for collateral," pointing at Cole and I. "And that girl, too. I want her here too."

Ryot stepped behind me, kind of using me to hide from Franklin. I could tell he made her nervous and narrowed my eyes at the jackass. "Yeah, alright. We'll stay." Then my gaze flickered to Fenix. "Go, ya assholes, the quicker you get there, the sooner you get back, the sooner we can leave."

* * *

"Come on, let me lead y'all over to where we eat," Franklin said, jumping up from his seat. Cole and I followed him and I knew Ryot was somewhere behind us.

"What's up with her?" Cole whispered to me.

"I don't know. She's scared I guess." I answered, shrugging.

"Awe, your little girlfriend's scared. Why don't you go and help her?" He asked, laughing a bit. I shoved him. "Shut up dumbass, she's not my girlfriend and you're worse that Dom."

"Really though, you should probably go talk to her. She doesn't seem to like the rest of us, you're the only one she seems to talk to."

"She's fine."

"Yeah, I'm fine." I heard her say and I realized that Cole and I had been so busy talking that we didn't see her already ahead of us. "Way to be discreet, by the way. And I can tell you one thing, I definitely don't prefer Baird over the rest of you. Not to be rude or anything but you're a jackass."

"Oh, because that definitely wasn't rude." I scoffed.

"I could've said sometime much worse, but I figure I'd be nice for once," she said in her girl-voice, which was innocent and amused as she glanced back at us, brushing her hair behind her ears.

"You? Nice? I'll believe that when the war ends."

She said nothing. At first I assumed I won, but with the smug smile, I later realized that she in fact did.


	2. 2- Sorry we're not all pure muscle

**Ryot Naime's POV**

* * *

"I'm gonna go sit up there," Damon pointed up at one of the walls. "Keep watch I guess." I don't think he was speaking specifically to anyone, but before he left he glanced at me.

I gave a slight nod and took into memory an image of him while he left. His armor made him look bulky, yet I could tell that beneath it all, he was nothing but muscle. His blonde hair was a bit spiky and he wore blue tinted goggles around his head. He wore boots like mine, although mine were much smaller. I could remember his eyes. They were crystal blue, but not lighter than mine. His skin was tanned, but not that much. When he smiled, his teeth were bright white and straight as possible.

"Ryot, let's go get us some food." Cole grinned at me as he followed Franklin. "I'll catch up with you in a minute. I want to see what his problem is," I called after him, then turned and jogged over the way Baird had disappeared off to.

"Hey Damon?" I called softly, not wanting to attract the attention of any of the stranded.

"What?" He answered, leaning back on his elbows up on the wall so he could see me.

"What are you doing up there?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest as I shivered. It was getting late; colder, and I was still only in my tank top and baggy pants. He smiled slightly, rolling onto his stomach and holding his arms down to me. "Come on," he said, "grab my arms and I'll pull you up."

I stood there for a moment, then huffed and attempted to wrap my hands around his arms, just below his elbows. In return, he wrapped his hands around my arms as well.

Baird pulled me up and set me down on the thick wall beside him. "Damn you're really small," he chuckled. I rolled my eyes at him, smirking.

"Sorry, we can't all be pure muscle. You must be on steroids or something," I laughed a bit. He looked at me with a smile before frowning. "We never got your arm fixed up, did we?"

"Nah, but I'm fine. It's stopped bleeding. I told you, I was only grazed."

"Oh. Well good."

"Yeah."

"So what'd you come up here for, anyway?"

"To find out why you're really up here."

He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I did it to get away from you."

"Oh but the funny thing is you didn't," I grinned, "or else you would've told me to go away."

"Not only are you cute, you're smart too, huh?" Baird chuckled, looking over the wall once again. I smiled a bit and crossed my legs so I was sitting indian-style, my arms crossed over my chest as I continued to shiver. "Cold?" He asked.

"Yeah.. A bit."

"Come here," he said and let his legs swing over one side of the wall. I slid closer and he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, bringing me even closer. I felt a bit warmer with him shielding me away. I looked up at him before reaching up and pulling his goggles off his head.

"Hey hey hey, what're you doing with those?" He laughed, looking at me. I attempted to pull them onto my own head, but failed to understand how. He laughed. "That's not how you put them on, dumbass."

"Well sorry, we don't all wear weird goggles all the time." I made a face, handing them back.

"Here, let me help you. And they're aviator goggles." Baird said, turning to me. He moved my hair back out from behind my ears and slipped the goggles over my head, fixing them so the glass that you see out of were on top of my forehead and I could still see correctly. "There. Now, we should go grab something to eat."

* * *

Damon Baird's POV

* * *

"Kryll, huh?" I asked, taking a sip of the whiskey they had offered me. I knew better than to get drunk with a gun, but I figured it would be alright to drink just a bit. Cole looked at me and nodded. "Coming right this way. Franklin said to stay in the light and they wouldn't be able to get to you. Where are your goggles, by the way?"

"With Blondie over there," I pointed over at Ryot, who sat against the wall, her COG tags in her hand. I could tell she was studying them and thinking. As much as I wanted to go over to her, I knew it was better to stay with Cole in case of an emergency.

People began to flood the one building that this community actually had. Soon enough I couldn't even see Ryot over all of them. "What's going on?" I called to Cole over all the noise.

"The Kryll are here; it's night," he called back. I gritted my teeth and stood, pulling my Lancer off my shoulder. Cole did the same. "That means some Locust will be around."

"Alright, let's get out there," I said, pushing through the crowds to get outside. Ryot was already there, reloading her Lancer. Four Locusts lay dead on the ground, an open Emergence hole dispersing more. I looked at her. "How long have you been out here?" I asked, crouching behind the roadblock with her. The light barely covered us, but it was enough to keep the Kryll away. She answered me without looking up from her gun, "A minute."

"You alright?"

"Yeah Damon, just trying not to die here." She scoffed. I rolled my eyes and blindly fired over the blockade, listening at two Locust thumped to the ground. I then looked up to see that there were just two more. Cole launched a frag over near them and the blood spewed everywhere when it exploded. The all too familiar "COLE TRAIN BAYBEEE" was what he shouted, causing me to role my eyes once again.

Ryot let out a sigh, slugging back against the blockade, closer to the light now.

"Okay what's really going on?" I asked her, sitting down beside her.

"Coulda sworn that the Kryll would get to me while I was trying to hit the Locust."

"Scared of them?" Cole asked, sitting in front of us.

"Yeah. They're what killed my brother. Nasty bitches is what they are."

"What was your brother's name, if you don't mind me asking."

"Desperaux Naime."

Cole grunted. "Your brother was one of my best friends," he said quietly. "Killed by the Kryll?"

"So you're the Cole he was talking about! He had gone out and found you and the rest of Alpha Squad the day he died! Commed me and said he and the rest of the squad were coming to get me. You guys abandoned him!" She exclaimed, jumping up.

Cole fell silent, as did I. I could remember what happened with Des. We asked him to go alone; said we'd wait for him while he grabbed Ryot. He took too long. Figured he'd found her and we left him, we couldn't wait any longer.

"You killed my brother," she breathed, her Lancer clattering to the ground just beside her.

"Hey, we didn't ki-" I began, but Cole cut me off.

"It was Baird's idea. But I agreed with him. We waited for him for over seven hours. It was a 30 minute walk. It wasn't even dark then."

I winced, closing my eyes tight and gripping my Lancer. She would be pissed. No, she'd be upset. I'd prefer her to be pissed. Not even pissed; I'd rather her be furious that upset. Not with me.

"You're the one that came up with the idea?" She asked, looking at me. Her eyes were so sad. Guilt began to set in, but was quickly washed away with the feeling of my heart dropping into my stomach as she stood up, now furious.

"Disgusting scum. Self-centered. Idiotic. Damon, you're a bitch. I hope you die- no. I hope the Kryll tear you apart, bit by bit until you're barely alive, and then I hope a Locust comes and shoots you in your goddamned head. I _hate_ you." She said, her voice barely a whisper as she turned and went back inside, weaving through the crowds of stranded. She had recaptured her Lancer and it was on her shoulder. Her back and arms were toned with muscle that I hadn't seen before. She was upset. Very, very, very upset.

"Good job Baird." Cole snorted. Even Fenix commed in, "yeah, that was just perfect." I shoved Cole back, as hard as I could, although I made sure to keep him in the light.

"Jackass!" I exclaimed. "Just tell her everything, why don't you? She's probably crying! _And,_ you just had to go and com it over to the others, huh?"

"You shouldn't have killed her brother," he smirked a bit.

"What the hell is your problem?" I shouted. "Just gotta go around and ruin everyone's day?!"

"Baird, calm down. She'll be fine by the morning. Besides, you've got to talk to her again anyway. She has your goggles."


	3. 3- Right smack in the middle of black

**Damon Baird's POV**

* * *

"Leave me alone," she snapped, hoisting herself up onto the lit-up roof.

"Where are you going?" I asked for about the twenty-seventh time, following her up.

"I think it's a bit obvious." She turned. "Oh I'm so tempted to just push you off so you fall into the dark."

"Go ahead, Ryot. Do it. Push me. I'll land right smack in the middle of black and you can get what you want."

"Oh no," Ryot said, laughing coldly, "That's not what I want. What I want is my brother back, but sadly you've killed him, so looks like we can't all get what we want."

I smiled, although I definitely wasn't feeling it. "Goddamn you stubborn little blonde. I told you, I didn't kill him. He couldn't have been killed by Kryll if it was light out."

"Obviously he could, because he never even came back to get me! I found him dead, and there were dead Kryll around him. Coincidence, huh?" She shouted, pushing me slightly. I caught her by the elbows.

"Don't," I said softly, looking at her. "It was 3:17 in the afternoon when we left and decided he would be able to catch up. We had to get to the extraction point. If he was really going to you, he'd have found you, gotten you, and brought you back."

"So you mean to tell me, my own brother lied to both of us and didn't come to me?"

"That's exactly what I mean to tell you."

"Wow, you're a real jackass," Ryot muttered, yanking herself away as she turned to look away from me.

I sighed, touching her good shoulder. "Just because I'm a jackass doesn't mean you need to abandon Delta Squad."

"Oh I'm not. I'm just not speaking to you until I think you deserve it. And only because I need the protection of the Squad, anyway," she snapped, moving away as she climbed down, back inside.

* * *

**Ryot Naime's POV**

* * *

"Ry!" Cole called to me the next morning. I had fallen asleep after thinking everything over. I could never even attempt to be mad at the big teddy bear. Besides, Des' death had been Damon's fault, not his. Damon had just convinced him to go along. Damon Baird though, that was a man I could stay pissed at for my entire life.

"Yeah?" I answered, turning to him. "They've got the Junker and we're heading to Fenix's estate now. You coming?"

I yawned and stood up, stretching a bit. "Yeah, why not." I shrugged, catching my Lancer by the strap I had attached to it.

"Come on," he said and took my wrist, pulling me outside towards the Junker. It must've been around two or three in the morning because it was still dark out and we all had to stay in the light. Dom and Fenix exchanged glances as they looked at me. "You," Fenix said, "I want you on the top, helping to man the spotlight. Knock out any and all Kryll that try to attack us with it."

I nodded and hoisted myself high onto the back of the car, then watched as Fenix climbed in the drivers' seat, Dom in the passenger and Cole in the back. I then wiped my hand over my face in distress as I realized who I would be helping to man the light.

I turned my head to see Damon, who had his hands firmly on the handles that controlled the light, his gaze straight ahead instead of at me. "You shoot," I finally said, "I'll hold the light."

"It gets hot quickly." Was all I got as an answer. He never moved.

"Baird, move dumbass, I said I'd take it."

"Fine," he snapped. "Here, burn your hands, see if I care." He stepped away from the light and hauled up his gun.

Fenix started the Junker's engine and we were off soon. I flicked on the UV light and aimed it at any Kryll that came by. I could feel the handles heating up a bit, but I didn't pay much attention. That is, until my palms felt like they were on fire. I wanted to release the handles but I couldn't; there was a swarm of Kryll coming at us.

Gritting my teeth against the searing pain, I aimed it upwards. The screeching bird-like things fell to the ground, burning as well. We were almost to the estate when it began to get lighter out, and I released the handles, sitting down on the platform with my hands clenched into fists.

"You.. alright?" Damon asked, kneeling down in front of me.

"Yeah, just fine jackass." I tried to yank my hands away as he began opening my fists, but failing. He chuckled, "I told you it burns. And I have gloves on. I take back what I said yesterday about you being smart, you really aren't."

"Thanks, that's really helpful in the situation," I growled out, rolling my eyes at him. The cold metal of his gloved thumbs rubbed against the red burns on my palms, cooling the burns for a bit. "Are you alright?" He asked, more softly this time.

I sighed. "No. It hurts like hell."

He began to pull his hands away from mine, but I shook my head, "Don't. The metal's cold."

"Oh," he answered, sitting down beside me. He rested his arm on my lap. "There, just hold my wrist or something. I don't care." I nodded, clasping both hands around his thickly armored wrist. He looked at me, a ghost of a smile on his face as he said, "you've still got my goggles, Blondie."

I couldn't help it when I blushed slightly. "Sorry.." I let out a nervous laugh and reached up to pull them off, but he quickly stopped me.

"Nah. You wear 'em."

"Oh uh.. okay." I smiled.

"Yeah. Uh.. listen, I'm sorry. About Des. It was a stupid idea, I understand. But we had commed in and told him to go to the extraction point. He knew what to do. He took too long, and I'm sorry that I left him. I'm so-"

"Shut up, you sound stupid," I said quietly, leaning against his arm.

"I know," he laughed a bit, wrapping the arm I wasn't already holding around my shoulders.

* * *

**Damon Baird's POV**

* * *

Shit shit shit, what was I doing? Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Shiiiiit. I knew I had fixed the problem, but I didn't know why I was doing what I was doing. I didn't like her; I _couldn't_ like her. That would make everything hell for the entire team. Maybe she liked me, I didn't know, but I killed all chances of convincing myself I didn't like her when I kissed her cheek.

She glanced at me, her cheeks tinted red and her blue eyes confused. She was so pretty, with her long blonde hair. It reached her shoulder blades and her bangs were swept to the side so they covered her left eye. Her lips were red, as if she were wearing lipstick, although she wasn't, and her nose and cheeks were dotted with a few small freckles. Her teeth were white and straight, except for her canine teeth, which were slightly longer than the others. With my goggles on her head, my arm around her, and her hands on my wrist, I so badly wanted to lean forward and kiss her. I saw the way all the others looked at her, especially Fenix, and I didn't like it, not one bit.

"What?" Ryot asked, seeing me looking at her like that.

"Huh? Nothing." I felt my cheeks heat up as I looked back ahead of me.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you," she said quietly after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah, don't believe the smart guy." I scoffed sarcastically.

"Oh don't get cocky!" She exclaimed, "Don't ruin what little amount of liking I actually have towards you."

"Oh so you like me, huh?"

"No, to be honest I still hate you, the only reason I'm even sitting beside you is so my hands don't feel like they're gonna melt."

Oh. Ouch.

"Hey lovebirds, y'all done fighting down there?" Fenix shouted, causing me to realize the Junker wasn't moving anymore and we were at the estate already. My cheeks flamed up and I jumped off the top, landing next to Dom on the ground with a thump. Cole reached up to help Ryot down. He looked at her hands to see how bad the burns were.

"It doesn't hurt as bad," she shrugged.

"Baird, why'd you let her do it?" Fenix snapped.

"She made me!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms into the air. "She wanted to, I told her that it heats up, and she wanted to do it anyway!"

He didn't seem to believe me, but turned and looked at Ryot. "Can you still hold a gun?"

"I.. I don't think so." She said, looking at her Lancer that was strapped to her back.

"Alright," he sighed, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. "Stay close and I'll shoot. Cole, Baird, you two cover the back, Dom and I will get the front. If any emergence holes open up, just throw a frag and duck."

I narrowed my eyes at him, then sighed in defeat and nodded, watching as Fenix, Ryot, and Dom walked ahead of both Cole and I.


	4. 4- One eye open, of course

**Ryot Naime's POV**

Fenix pulled me down behind one of the blockades, making me crouch there. I stayed put as bullets skimmed over the block, Fenix crouched down beside me. "Can you hold a gun yet?" He asked, seemingly impatient.

"Hey, cut her some slack, _Marcus_," Baird snapped, kneeling down beside me. "Can you hold a rifle?" He asked, calmer than Fenix.

I nodded. "I'm fine, I can hold what I need to," I said, trying not to snap at him. Even though I wanted to be mad at him, he was being kind and worrying about me.

"Okay. Be careful," he said, pulling a rifle from the holster on his leg. He pried open my hand gently, putting the rifle in it. "_Please_ be careful. We need you to go around and get the Locust off the troika. We'll attract their attention."

"I can do it, Damon, I'll be fine." I said, jumping from behind the blockade over to a column of a building. The rifle burned in my hand, but I didn't drop it. They were counting on my, that was obvious. As I slinked through the inside of the building to flank the troika, I noticed Dom had been shot in the shoulder.

* * *

**Damon Baird's POV**

* * *

"Maybe I should go with her?" I suggested worriedly, firing at as many Locusts as I could. I tried to look and see if I could find Ryot, but she wasn't in viewing sight. When a few Locusts shot upwards, I knew that's where she was. I looked up and saw her, crouched on the roof with her Lancer in hands. Her leg was bleeding, blood staining her baggy army pants. "Fenix, she's hit," I said urgently.

"She'll be fine." He answered.

"_Fenix. She's bleeding_," I said, dragging out my words to let it sink in.

"The best thing to do is kill these Locusts and then help her," he snapped, looking at me momentarily. "If this girl is going to be such a distraction to you, I'll dismiss her and she can go live with the Stranded."

"You're a sick bastard, aren't you?"

"Shut up and do your job, Baird."

I rolled my eyes and looked back to the emergence holes. It had closed, thanks to a frag Cole had thrown, and there were but two Locusts left. Fenix shot one down and began shouting orders to the others, but I wasn't listening.

I watched Ryot slide down from the roof and land on her shot leg. She let out a yelp and fell back on her ass. The Locust that had been manning the troika came towards her, aiming whatever type of gun he had.

I'm not sure how, but I killed him before he could kill her. Luckily there were no more after him, so I was quick to make my way over to her. Without either of us saying anything, I placed my arm under her shoulders and helped her walk on her one leg.

"You okay?" I finally asked after a bit of walking.

"I've never had a bullet in my leg this long before, and all I can say is it hurts like hell. I don't like the war."

* * *

Ryot sat beside me- well she sat in my lap, when we got inside a safer room to make plans. There weren't enough seats for her.

"How's your leg?" Fenix asked, interrupting the silence that had been taking place the entire time.

"Great, no thanks to you," she snapped, leaning back against my shoulder.

"Yeah because dumbass there is definitely helping you by _cuddling_ all over you."

"Better than telling everyone to leave me because I'll be fine!"

"Not my fault you're dumb enough to get yourself shot," he shrugged.

That's when I remembered that she had my rifle; because she cocked at him. "I'm pretty sure you're dumb enough to get yourself shot, too."

"Woah, woah, woah," I said in her ear, reaching around her to take my gun back. "Chill out. Although I've been wanting to do that to him since the moment I met him."

She narrowed her eyes an gave the gun back to me, sighing and ignoring the rest of us to examine her burns and bullet wound.

"I say we stay here for a night. We need the rest and Naime can't do much with her leg like that. Which reminds me," Dom said, "someone's going to have to pry that bullet out of her leg."

"I say we make Baird do it." Fenix sneered. "She is his girlfriend after all."

"She is not!" Both Ryot and I shouted at the same time. She sat up in my lap and straightened her back, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Whatever. Baird you fix her up anyway. The rooms in this hall should all be clean at the moment. Feel free to take any of them. We'll stay for a night and then tomorrow morning we move on."

* * *

I took a piece of cloth off a sheet and wrapped it around her mouth, knotting it in the back. "This is gonna hurt and you can't be loud," I said. Ryot nodded slightly, pulling her pantleg up just enough to reveal the bullet wound in her outer-thigh. The bullet wasn't lodged in too deep, so it'd be easier to get it out. I pulled my metal gloves off and gently brushed my thumb over the bullet hole, causing her to wince. Trying to be quick and easy about it I rolled the bullet out. She made a series of whimpers and yelps and I felt bad, but I knew it was helping her.

"I'm sorry," I said, untying the cloth from her mouth so I could clean up the fresh blood from her leg.

"It's fine. Thanks." She said quietly, looking at me. "Hey I have a question."

"Don't you always?" I teased, a small smile on my face. "Go ahead, ask."

"Do you ever take all that armor off?"

"Yeah. When I sleep." I shrugged, raising an eyebrow.

She laughed a bit, although I could tell her heart wasn't in it. "How do you even sleep during all this?"

I shook my head. "With one eye open."

Ryot managed a smile, one I knew was real. "Where are you going to sleep tonight?" I asked her, curious.

"Where are you sleeping?" She answered, smile fading. "Honestly I'd prefer to not sleep in a separate room down the hall be-"

"It'd be so much easier to just say you want to sleep with me," I joked, "just admit it right here, right now."

"Why are you so cocky?" She rolled her eyes, smiling as she stood up. When she walked she limped a little, barely stepping on her right leg. "Where're you going?" I asked, watching her.

"I'm gonna sleep on the floor," Ryot answered, sitting down against a wall. "You take the bed."

I looked at the large, queen-sized bed and then back at her, raising an eyebrow. "At least take the blanket and pillow." Before she could protest, I threw them to her. "Take it."

"Fine." She laughed, laying the blanket down and the pillow on top of it, presumably so she could lay on it instead of the cold floor.

* * *

"Baird. Baird," I was woken by Ryot's whispering and shaking my shoulders. I jumped awake, trying to see her in the dark. Whatever little bit of light that came from the moon reflected over her face and my blue goggles on her head. She had been crying; I could see it on her face and hear it in her voice.

"Are you okay?" I asked, placing my hands at her cheeks, using my thumbs to wipe whatever that was left of her tears away. I felt her shake her head no rapidly. "What's wrong?"

"My leg. I was shot twice, not once, and I guess I managed to get the bullet in deeper. Can you help me?" She asked, her voice soft and trembling.

I stood up to help her lay back on the bed. I couldn't see any part of her leg so instead of trying to get it out I said, "It's too dark to see anything. I'll be able to get it out in the morning before we leave, so for now just lay here and I'll make sure you don't move too much in your sleep."

* * *

**Ryot Naime's POV**

* * *

His armor fell to the ground with a thump, his blue eyes the only thing I could see in the dark. He was staring straight at me, movement frozen. He had barely finished pulling his metal boots off when he briskly made his way to me, leaning over the bed so he could reach me. Baird took my face in his hands, firmly, and looked me in the eye. He was waiting for me to say yes; that this was okay. Sitting up a bit and wrapping an arm around his neck seemed to be an appropriate answer. He leaned forward, his head tilted a bit, and let his lips brush against mine. "You've still got my goggles on, and quite frankly," he whispered, "I like them on you." He kissed me again, or I kissed him, I don't remember. I slid my hand down to rest against his apparently bare chest. His heart beat wildly in his chest; I could feel it. It caused me to wonder if he knew how nervous I myself was.

"Damon," I breathed his name quietly, like I'd never said it before. "I don't think tha-"

"Just go with it," Baird said softly. "I don't care what happens."

So I kissed him. Again and again and again and again because I felt like I should and I thought I wanted to because hell he was so amazing at times, forget the obnoxious behavior, screw it, I liked Damon Baird no matter what I tried to tell myself and I realized how long I had really wanted this to happen; since the beginning, from when I met him. Even when I was angry at him, I still liked him because there's this thing about Damon that makes him likable- like you needed to like him or you felt like you were wrong.

At one point, I forget when and how, I ended up laying on my side, as did he, facing him. I pulled away from the kiss to smile a bit and looked at him. I was still only able to see his crystal eyes. They seemed to be brighter than usual, although I didn't really care, I just wanted to see if he was smiling. Maybe he didn't like this. Maybe he secretly hated me. Or maybe he felt like it would make up for what happened with Desperaux.

He interrupted my thoughts, "I've wanted to do that for so long," he whispered softly, kissing my nose once.

"Would it be odd to tell you I've wanted that for a while too?"

"Well considering _everything _you say is odd-"

"Oh hush," I laughed softly as I nudged his side with my elbow, leaning my head in the crook of his neck, where it met at his shoulder.

"What are you doing, Blondie?" Damon whispered, chuckling. His left hand stroked my hair back while his right stayed at my waist, holding me close to him.

"Sleeping, stupid," I whispered with a yawn, tilting my head up to kiss his jawbone. "What are you doing?"

"Sleeping. One eye open of course." He chuckled. "To keep you safe. I want you in my sight from now on. I don't care what Fenix, Dom, or Cole say. You're not part of their team. You're mine, and mine alone, and I want you safe. And I really, really, **really **don't like the way Fenix looks at you."

"Wait, how does he look at me?" I asked, looking at him.

"The way I do. And only I can look at you that way or so help me I will put a bullet through his head."


End file.
